*100 copies limited edition* From Dust to Stars centres on a shared time of music-making in June 2006 at Andrew Chalk’s studio in Hull, northern England—a time that later formed the core of a work shaped over the ensuing years through Kojo’s editing. In Chalk’s wooden studio—its atmosphere shaped by soft humidity and gentle resonance—the three musicians let the music emerge at the pace of their breathing. What unfolded shared qualities with none of their solo works, yet carried traces of each: Chalk’s strings carried a warm wavering that embraced the resonance of the wood; Coleclough subtly altered the density of the air; Kojo, centring his interplay with Chalk’s strings, folded in overtones and found-object sounds that responded to the flow of the session.
British and Japanese sensibilities surface in equal measure. Pieces shaped by an East Asian sense of time-interval contain a wavering that could not have arisen from British musicians alone, while sustained tones conveying the subtle blending of grey skies and light carry a colouration distinct from Japanese performers. When melodies appear, the two elements blend into an unplaceable, mythical folk music.
Each track bears a name associated with rain—echoing the nuanced vocabularies that both Japan and northern England possess for describing rainfall. Through additional recording in Switzerland (2009) and final editing and mastering in Belgium (2025) by Kojo, the influences of three places and many years are gently interwoven into the music.